First time GVR4 owner 965/2000 (3xdsm owner) :)

chevyracer5613 Unregistered

posted 09/25/10 05:16 PM

Howdy...as I am sure most people here were, after seeing/finding out about a galant vr4 I knew I had to have one.....I probably got introduced about5 years ago to the DSM crowd and since have owned 3 1g dsm's. I was always looking for a cheap gvr4 to pick up near me but whenever I found one it was either across the country, a rust bucket or I had no money haha. As luck would have it I found a decent deal on a fairly complete car with a bad motor about 4 hours aways and decided to snag it while I had the "spare" cash. Now I am the owner of a summit white 1991 GVR4 #965/2000.

Planned powerplant:I have a 92 eclipse GSX with a evo 3 motor (yes an e3 in a 1g....all you gotta do is fab motor mounts) that is running and although I just got done putting a roll cage in it I am selling it to recuperate the money I spent on the galant. Anyhow the motor is a evo3, therefore a 7bolt 2g-esque motor....main differences being the shorter runner intake and 510 cc injectors, I am currently running a holset he351 VGT off the 6.7L cummins motor....I removed the electronics actuator and rigged up a lever arm actuated by a stock wastegate actuator, it is also still water cooled as well as oil cooled (some people neglect water cooling this turbo). I am running a OS-Giken ts2b twin disc clutch.....which will probably wind up needing new discs in the next few months .........aside from that i'll be using a evo 3 FMIC untill I can get something better.

Tuning:I am currently tuning with a AEM wideband and GM MAFT, however I have most of the stuff needed to run DSMAP....although I am also considering running a evo 8 ecu........but will mostly likely attempt dsmap first.

Goals:Clean up the car, correctly build this galant (as opposed to building it like a typical DSM), eventually get to about 400 AWHP and just have an all around reliable grocery getter (...sleeper) that'll blow the doors off most other cars on the road.

I do have a few questions for the experts out there. I recall reading somewhere that no USDM gvr4's came automatic.......however the dash in my car appears to be for an automatic (in the center has P R N D 2 L ) did all gvr4's come this way?Also the dash has text on the bottom left claiming it'll change colors?

I am sure I will develop alot more questions over the next few weeks as I bring this car back to life and thank all of yall ahead of time for your help/knowledge/support!

Cherrod8- I suppose I should be a little more explicit lol.....Charlotte, NC. Interesting I will have to look for the button, I havent spent much time in the car yet......I wonder why they chose those two colors and how easily they can be modified?

Maroonmetallic- Yes the cluster has a digital boost gage, although I assume like the DSM its "reads" theoretical boost via the MAF? Also thanks, I am sure I will be spending alot more time in the actual forums then before although I have lurked in the sales section for a couple of years now waiting on "my" car to pop up .

Here are a few pictures I have, you can also view some from the previous sale ad here :
click

I will probably do a build thread with more pictures once I get some actual progress...but who knows I might put a few more on here.

Mitsuturbo- I agree about the bezels.........the entire center console is currently red and the door placards are white and red.........lucky for me it comes with a set of black door panels and I plan on painting most of the center console back black........I like customized cars but there is a certain limit on inside coloring IMO lol

Wizardawd- Thanks for that information, I might have to try that sometime

TRBODSM- I wondered the same thing myself however when I look at pictured of JDM gvr4's the dash is mirrored....like the RPMS are on the right side.....plus the speedometers dominant units are MPH............so all of that just perplexes me more lol

I had a little free time so I decided to tackle a small project..........as you might have seen from the above picture the center console was white.........which naturally had a very high contrast to the rest of the dash..........since my rims are going to be silver I decided against black (atleast for now) and painted it silver..........let me know what yall think.......I am considering painting the lower center console the same silver or black as well...........I dont want a ricey look but I do want something a little different and "clean" looking hopefully.........opinions are always welcomed

Turbowop- Thanks for the comment, I actually hadn't noticed until you said something that those are "supposed" to be black lol, also I am starting to look for a new front bumper.......honestly I am hoping to revert back to more of a sleeper look.......anyhow aside from craigslist and the forums if you know of any good places to search for one near the Charlotte, NC area feel free to let me know!

boostdtalon- Thanks, whenever I get this car running right and if I ever get some free time I might be looking for some meets/gatherings........so if you know if any in the NC area feel free to PM me sometime.

I know this car...Did you pick it up in Charleston, SC? I know the previous two owners didn't have a whole lot of time to get into the car and so much of what you guys are currently seeing (headliner, cluster, bezels, and NT bumper) are from a several owners ago. The speedometer probably came out of an Canadian GVR4.

from another thread where someone asked about this same car

Quoting MadBeachDSM:

I owned 965/2000 January to July last year. My plans were for a full drag build, but I lost interest and never got started, 145/2k was bought at the same time, and it was the more promising one to build up between the two.

965 has changed hands alot over the last several years. From what I can tell on the vehicle history report it has not been driven since at least 2001. From what I could tell it was very free of rust, there had been bondo work done in the quarter panel areas, but looking inside the trunk area where that is, it didn't appear to be anything too deep, just poor body work.

Having changed hands so many times, the right owner needs to come along and snatch it up, strip it to the shell and do a full frame-off (so to speak) restoration IMO, otherwise there is really no hope. I still have the AutoCheck vehicle history report (if the current owner would like a copy, I'd be glad to e-mail it), and it is clean, no accidents reported or anything of that nature.

What whomever does purchase it does need to realize, as with even the cleanest of Galant shells, these things are approaching 20-years old, and to get it back on the road (and be reliable), will be neither cheap, nor easy.

Raptorreed- Yes I picked it up in Charleston, SC. If I did my research correctly I believe the owner before the guy I bought it from is that MadBeachDSM and lives in FL? The previous owner mentioned he bought it about a year ago and hadnt got a chance to do anything with it unfortunately..............lucky for me I think I got a pretty good price on it and I am willing to put the time into the car to make it right . Thanks for the quote from the other post, I actually emailed the previous owner yesterday asking about the little bit of bondo on the RR 1/4 panel......the body is pretty straight but I did notice that...........from what I have seen there are 3 small rust spots on the body and a few on the hood......as long as none of it is hiding under the most recent paint job I think it should be fairly rust free still.

Thanks again for the info, I am trying to gather as much history as possible on the car so feel free to direct me to other sources if you get bored lol.

Boostdtalon- Well these cars are evo-esque....I am sure they wouldnt mind me hanging around occasionally lol...........thanks for the heads up, sounds like people are pretty spread out in NC. You dont happen to know any good sources for gvr4 parts in NC do you?

HHIVR4- Thanks for that i'll check them out, I was/am on importsnc.com but it seems to be mainly honda guys over there so I dont frequent often there, hopefully there still are a few gvr4's around my area

Boostdtalon- Right now I am mainly looking for some seats (front and rear) to go back in........either that or a good upholstery shop to fix my current ones. As I starting working on it I am sure I will find more things I want/need though lol

Raptorreed- I also meant to ask where I might find more info about the canadian gvr4's........I did a quick search on google and had very little luck, although one guy was trying to sell a canadian galant cluster but it looked different then mine. Any chance they are easy to take out and might have a part number that could be referenced?

mitsuturbo- It is not bashed in, however it is deflecting downwards due to the weight of the motor being suspended from it....also there is really no support underneath that part............however once I install my motor/radiator/etc I plan to rebrace a few parts on the front end and probably the chassis as well.

boostedtalon- I thought that might be my best option, there was one site selling a set of front and rears for like $150 in good condition.......but they were in NY or something ...........Evo 8 seats would be nice......however all of them for sale from what I have seen have been rather pricey!